Technology and Higher Education: Using an E-Learning Tutorial as a Pedagogy for Innovation and Flexible Learning

The study was conducted to identify the use of an e-learning tutorial by pre-service teachers in educational psychology at the Teacher Training Institutions in Malaysia. This exploratory study involved 45 pre-service teachers, and the methods used to collect data were questionnaires and protocol interviews. Our preliminary study showed that the adoption of the traditional tutorial, which was a face-to-face interaction, lacked detailed discussion, was less comprehensive and only partially fulfilled the pro-forma and Teaching Learning Objectives (TLO) scheme. Therefore, an e-learning tutorial was implemented as an alternative method in the teaching and learning processes. The results showed that the use of the e-learning tutorial increased the mastery of knowledge and enhanced the higher order thinking skills of the pre-service teachers in their educational psychology courses. The study also found that the teachers thought the learning process was more enjoyable, quicker and easier than the traditional tutorial. Furthermore, the e- learning tutorial could be accessed anywhere and at any time, which in turn can reduce learning costs. The pre-service teachers were more collaboratively creative and critical during the e-learning tutorial discussion than during the traditional tutorial.